Method and System for Uniform Remote Management of Network Devices

1. A method of remote management in a network, the network comprising a plurality of nodes to be managed by a remote controller, the nodes being identified each by at least one characterizing parameter corresponding to any of predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter, said at least one characterizing parameter being selected from at least one of: vendor, model, hardware version, firmware version, chipset type, wherein: the remote controller identifies the nodes, by identifying said at least one characterizing parameter of each node; the remote controller accesses a database comprising said predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter associated with respective upgrade procedures and controller firmwares, said upgrade procedures and controller firmwares being specifically configured for each instance of said at least one characterizing parameters, the controller firmwares implementing a uniform set of features among the nodes and enabling the nodes to be managed by the remote controller by means of a uniform set of managing procedures; for each identified node, the remote controller retrieves from said database the specific upgrade procedure and the specific controller firmware, which are associated in said database with the instance corresponding to said at least one characterizing parameter identified for the node; the remote controller executes, for each identified node, the retrieved specific upgrade procedure for loading the retrieved specific controller firmware onto the node; and after loading the specific controller firmware, the remote controller manages the nodes according to said uniform set of features and by using said uniform set of managing procedures, wherein said uniform set of features and said uniform set of managing procedures are the same for all the nodes and each node has a specific stock firmware, implementing a specific stock set of features and requiring the use by the remote controller of specific managing procedures, including said specific upgrade procedure, and wherein the loading of the retrieved specific controller firmware onto each identified node is executed so as to replace the specific stock firmware with the specific controller firmware, whereby the node is enabled to implement said uniform set of features, instead of said specific stock set of features, and the remote controller is enabled to manage the node by using said uniform set of managing procedures, instead of using said specific managing procedures.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein: in said database said predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter are associated with respective configuration extraction procedures, specifically configured for each instance of said at least one characterizing parameters; for each identified node, the remote controller retrieves from said database the specific configuration extraction procedure which is associated in said database with the instance corresponding to said at least one characterizing parameter identified for the node; and before executing the retrieved specific upgrade procedure onto the identified node, the remote controller executes the retrieved specific configuration extraction procedure onto the identified node for extracting its current configuration.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein, before executing the retrieved specific upgrade procedure onto each identified node, the remote controller modifies the retrieved specific controller firmware by updating its default configuration so as to conform at least in part to said extracted current configuration.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein said default configuration is updated at least with respect to Internet connection parameters, enabling the identified node to access the Internet.

5. The method according to claim 2 , wherein after executing the retrieved specific upgrade procedure onto each identified node, the remote controller sends said extracted current configuration to the identified node.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein when the retrieved specific controller firmware cannot be directly loaded onto the identified node, the remote controller loads at least one specific bridge firmware onto the identified node, before loading the specific controller firmware, said at least one specific bridge firmware being suitably configured to restructure a flash memory and/or change a boot loader of the node in such a way that the specific controller firmware can be properly loaded onto it, and wherein said at least one specific bridge firmware is associated in said database with the instance corresponding to said at least one characterizing parameter identified for the node.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the database comprises a plurality of identification procedures for identifying the nodes and for obtaining from them said at least one characterizing parameter, and for each node, the remote controller executes in sequence at least part of said plurality of identification procedures until it successfully identifies the node obtaining from it said at least one characterizing parameter.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein said identification procedures are specifically configured to respectively work on said predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the remote controller executes a discovery procedure for discovering the plurality of nodes, including the node identifiers as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and/or media access control (MAC) addresses, and wherein the discovery procedure includes trying to reach the plurality of nodes by using a predetermined IP address and/or MAC address, or by using a scanning procedure scanning a predetermined multitude of IP addresses.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein: the database comprises a section for storing the node identifiers associated with their corresponding characterizing parameters; the remote controller executes the identification on the discovered nodes; and for each identified node, the remote controller saves into the database the obtained at least one characterizing parameter in association with the node identifier, as previously discovered during execution of the discovery procedure, so as to fill said section of the database.

11. A system comprising a remote controller, a database and a wide or local area telecommunication network, the network comprising a plurality of nodes to be managed by the remote controller, the nodes being network devices managed by the remote controller, having a hardware-based processor, and being identified each by at least one characterizing parameter corresponding to any of predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter, said at least one characterizing parameter being at least one of a: vendor, model, hardware version, firmware version, chipset type, wherein: the database is configured to stores a uniform set of managing procedures, which are uniform among the nodes; the database is configured to store said predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter in association with respective upgrade procedures and controller firmwares, said upgrade procedures and controller firmwares being specifically configured for each instance of said at least one characterizing parameters, the controller firmwares implementing a uniform set of features among the nodes and enabling the nodes to be managed by the remote controller by means of said uniform set of managing procedures; the remote controller is configured to: identify the nodes, by identifying said at least one characterizing parameter of each node; retrieve from said database, for each identified node, the specific upgrade procedure and the specific controller firmware, which are associated in said database with the instance corresponding to said at least one characterizing parameter identified for the node; execute, for each identified node, the retrieved specific upgrade procedure for loading the retrieved specific controller firmware onto the node; after the specific controller firmware is loaded onto each node, manage the nodes, according to said uniform set of features and by using said uniform set of managing procedures; wherein said uniform set of features and said uniform set of managing procedures are the same for all the nodes and each node has a specific stock firmware, implementing a specific stock set of features and requiring the use by the remote controller of specific managing procedures, including said specific upgrade procedure, and wherein the loading of the retrieved specific controller firmware onto each identified node is executed so as to replace the specific stock firmware with the specific controller firmware, whereby the node is enabled to implement said uniform set of features, instead of said specific stock set of features, and the remote controller is enabled to manage the node by using said uniform set of managing procedures, instead of using said specific managing procedures.

12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein at least two of the nodes differ from each other for said at least one characterizing parameter.

13. The system according to claim 11 , wherein said predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter are associated in said database with specific configuration extraction procedures, and, for each identified node, the remote controller is configured to: retrieve from said database the specific configuration extraction procedure which is associated in said database with the instance corresponding to said at least one characterizing parameter identified for the node; and before executing the retrieved specific upgrade procedure onto the identified node, execute the retrieved specific configuration extraction procedure onto the identified node for extracting its current configuration.

14. The system according to claim 11 , wherein each of at least part of said predetermined instances of said at least one characterizing parameter is associated in said database with at least one specific bridge firmware, and wherein the remote controller is configured to: retrieve from said database the at least one specific bridge firmware which is associated in said database with the instance corresponding to the at least one characterizing parameter identified for the node; and before loading the retrieved specific controller firmware onto the identified node, load said at least one specific bridge firmware onto the identified node, said at least one specific bridge firmware being suitably configured to restructure a flash memory and/or change a boot loader of the identified node so that the specific controller firmware can be properly loaded onto it.